


Spice Cake

by violetcookie



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Birthday, Fluff, Gen, Please let Natsuki cook for Ren more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-27 23:36:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17776367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetcookie/pseuds/violetcookie
Summary: It's Ren's Birthday and Natsuki is in charge of baking a cake for his surprise party! He's not sure what kind of cake to bake since Ren doesn't like sweets, but there's no harm to trying to make a spice cake. The recipe simply calls for cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves along with the batter, what else could go wrong?





	Spice Cake

**Author's Note:**

> Natsuren is my rarepair but I'm keeping them as friends for this fic because I just want Natsuki to cook for Ren more when he admits to liking it so much! It's short and sweet because I wanted to post it in time for Valentine's day.  
> Happy Birthday, Ren!

Valentine’s Day, a day when girls share their love through chocolates and other sweets. Unfortunately, this holiday led toward Ren Jinguji’s dislike of sweets. Sharing a birthday with a holiday like this only means being given double the amount of chocolate for both a confession of love and as a birthday gift. He never disliked his popularity with girls at Saotome Gakuen, but the piles of sweets were never eaten unless they were on the bitter side. The only other kind of confections he would enjoy eating would be made by one specific person who loves to cook. 

Natsuki Shinomiya.

No matter what Syo, Otoya, or anyone else says, Shinomi’s cooking was the greatest to him. How he turned a sweet-looking cookie into tasting like something high on the Scoville scale is a mystery Ren would never really understand. He said himself that he’d clear out his entire schedule for the day if Shinomi was cooking. Though men don’t usually give each other chocolates on Valentine’s day, Ren would never turn down a gift of chocolates made by Shinomi. But for his birthday this year, he hasn’t heard a single word from Natsuki. Sure, Natsuki isn’t the best with technology but it was a bit odd that he’s received a birthday message from all of the other STARISH members except Natsuki. Perhaps he has a busy schedule? There’s no telling how packed an idol’s schedule could be, he might not have had enough time to do his usual emoji-filled messages. No use fretting it, he’d prefer a “Happy Birthday” from Natsuki during a birthday celebration his group members might have in store later. 

Meanwhile, Natsuki was truly holding himself back from sending a cute birthday message:  
“Happy Birthday Ren-kun! Time for a birthday hug!!!─=≡Σʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ”

Syo told him about the planned surprised party and allowed him to bake the cake just this once because Ren likes his cooking. Natsuki spent hours trying to find the perfect kind of cake to make for Ren who wouldn’t like a very sweet cake. There was no way he was going to fail making a great birthday cake for the one who loves his cooking the most. White cake, Double Chocolate, Carrot, Sponge, everything sounded too sweet even if he changed the ingredients. 

“Ren-kun likes spicy food…does he like other spices as well?” Natsuki asked himself.

Natsuki remembered that he read something about a “spice cake” in a magazine about sweets but it was never anything he’s tried baking before. Quickly, he searched online for a recipe. It wouldn’t hurt to make something he’s never made before, there’s no doubt Ren wouldn’t like it. 

“Let’s see…the usual batter ingredients…cinnamon…ginger…nutmeg…and cloves? I don’t know if I have cloves or nutmeg, but I could probably replace it with other spices! There’s no problem if a spice cake has other spices!”

Natsuki searched through his kitchen cabinets for the spices recalled in the recipe and was right about not having those spices, he’d remind himself to buy more next time. Instead, he took out Ren’s favorite spices, ground cayenne pepper and ground habanero pepper. 

“Hmmm…it says I was supposed to use 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves but that’s not nearly enough for Ren-kun to taste it. I hope the others won’t find it too spicy if I add a tablespoon of each. Alright, let’s make this cake for Ren-kun!”

Since it was a new recipe, Natsuki tried to stay as close to the directions and the given ingredients as possible. He’d like to add natto to the mix, it might affect how well the cake comes out. STARISH put all their trust in him to make a birthday cake for Ren and there’s no way he’ll let his friends down.  
While the cake was in the oven, Natsuki received a text from Syo:

“Hey, how’s the cake coming? You didn’t make anything crazy, right?”  
“Don’t worry Syo-chan ! Everything is going to be delicious, Ren-kun is going to love this spice cake! Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ”  
“Spice cake? Ok, if you say so”

The timer began to ring behind Natsuki, surprising him. After sending Syo another happy emoji in reply, he put on his Piyo-chan oven mitts and gently removed the cake from the oven. The color of the cake didn’t look terrible and even if it did, the frosting would cover any blemishes. A quick look at the stove’s clock gave Natsuki the warning of the surprise party in a couple of hours. All that was left was to decorate the cake after it cooled with big orange letters shouting Happy Birthday. Natsuki had even bought a special tips for icing pipes to cover the pure whiteness of the cake’s frosting with red and orange roses. It looked like a birthday cake that could rival any cake shop, even the inside of the cake itself would never be found in a shop. Natsuki would have to write this recipe down titled "Ren-kun's Birthday Cake" just in case he was allowed to make the cake again next year. There was a little over an hour until the party began so Natsuki had to hurry to the surprise.

"Shinomiya-san should be here soon with the cake, do you know if Syo was able to pick up Ren?" Tokiya asked.  
"Syo messaged me that Ren insisted to drive here." Otoya replied "Sorry, Tokiya, I might have forgotten how much Ren likes to drive."  
Tokiya sighed, "It's fine. Hijirikawa-san and Aijima-san are nearly done decorating, do you have the party poppers?"  
Otoya nodded with a smile and held out the bag. "Right here! This party is going to be so exciting!"  
Before Tokiya could comment, a sudden noise notified that Natsuki was struggling trying to open the door while holding the cake box. He and Otoya quickly opened the door and took the cake from Natsuki before it could accidentally fall. 

Natsuki smiled in relief as Tokiya placed the cake on the main table without a scratch. The party seemed ready to go with everything in place, only waiting for Syo to text their arrival. Everyone had their own party popper in hand within the pitch darkness of the room. Sooner than they thought, Otoya's phone glowed on the table with the message "We're here, get ready!". Two pairs of feet began to walk towards the entrance. The lock on the door began to click and the loud creak of it's opening filled the room. The return of the room's lights summoned a rush of colored strings flying towards the door with a loud pop. 

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY REN!!!"

The astonished look on Ren's face is something that no one in STARISH would forget. Ren was covered in ribbons from the party poppers and could only laugh to make up for being surprised. A surprise party was not something he'd expect from his friends, but he's known them long enough that nothing would stop them from doing something special. The cake on the table in front of him looked beautiful, so pretty that he didn't truly desire to eat the obnoxiously sweet icing but it would be terrible to spoil something this wonderful. 

A happy voice from the left side of the room spoke up. "Ren-kun! Masato-kun let me make your cake this year! I made it very special for you, even the decorations!"

Any doubt Ren had in this cake suddenly vanished, not that Hijirikawa's cakes in the past tasted terrible but the fact that the others knew how much he enjoyed Shinomi's food and added more to this surprise of a party. Walking up closer to the cake, anyone could tell that a lot of care was put into this cake. Ren was right when the orange letters on the cake wishing him a happy birthday written by Shinomi were better than a text message. Tokiya appeared on the other side of the cake with orange candles and a match box, the letters on the cake nearly glistened with the light from the small flames. Flames similar to the one inside everyone's hearts filled with passion and love. The best thing he could wish for was for this warm feeling of close bonds with STARISH to continue forever, but Ren wouldn't let them know that. The smoke drifting away from the candles sent his wish away to hopefully be fulfilled. 

"Hey, Ren! What did you wish for? Tell me, tell me!" Otoya asked causing Tokiya to immediately answer in retort that wishes aren't supposed to be said.  
Ren chuckled. "Even if I told you, Ikki, it'll probably come true."

Masato cut everyone a slice of the cake, giving Ren and Natsuki much larger pieces. Spice cake was new to all of them, no one knew what to expect when first taking a bite. That is, until Otoya's face turned burning hot red as his hair. All but Natsuki and Ren regretfully swallowed their bites of cake, immediately gasping for something to drink to rid themselves of the fiery burn in their mouth. 

Syo glared at Natsuki. "Natsuki!! You said this was a spice cake, not a SPICY cake! What is even in this?!!"  
"It is a spice cake, Syo-chan! I didn't have a couple of the spices it asked for so I used Ren's favorite spices instead. I also added a bit more than what it told because I thought Ren would like a stronger taste of the ground peppers." Natsuki looked at Ren on the other side of the room "Ren-kun, is the cake alright?"

How Natsuki turned a beautiful cake into tasting like something high on the Scoville scale is still a mystery Ren would never really understand. Even with the sweet icing, eating a spicy dessert without any chocolate on Valentine's Day was the best gift Natsuki could have given him. Ren set his plate down as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. A single message appeared on the screen. 

“Happy Birthday Ren-kun! Time for a birthday hug!!!─=≡Σʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ”

Not even a moment later, Ren was being squeezed in one of Natsuki's signature gyuuu hugs. He patted the back of the tall man wrapped around him looking at the five other members of STARISH trying to recover from the cake. This party was just beginning and Ren had an entire delicious spicy cake for himself (and Natsuki, if he wanted some). 

"Shinomi...you can let go now...you're squeezing me to death."  
"Happy birthday Ren-kun. Thank you for liking my cake."


End file.
